ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
I&B Ministry extends date of submission of entries for the first edition of the Best Web Series  Award
: New Delhi/Mumbai, August 25, 2023
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has extended the date of submission of entries of the inaugural edition of the Best Web Series  Award from August 25 to 6pm on September 4 for online submissions, while the hardcopy of the series can be submitted by September 12, 2023.
In the event that September 12, 2023 is declared a holiday, the next working day will be considered as the final date for receipt of the application.
The decision to extend the date of submission was taken by the I&B Ministry with an effort to ensure that maximum number of Web Series' can participate for the award which intends to recognise the creative prowess of the OTT platform which has grown manifold in the last two years.
An eminent jury, consisting of personalities from the entertainment industry, will choose the Best Web Series and the winner will be awarded Rs 10 lakh as cash prize, along with certificates at the 54th International Film Festival of India .
To be eligible for the award, the web series has to be an originally created/shot series in any Indian language and has to be an original piece of work either commissioned or produced. Further, the series should have been co-produced, licensed, or acquired with the purpose of releasing ONLY on the OTT platform.
Also, to be eligible for the award, all episodes of the entry , should have been released on an OTT platform from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022.
Further details of the eligibility for the awards is available on the websites of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, National Film Development Corporation  and IFFI.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Social Audit Units
The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment has formulated a Scheme namely 'Information, Monitoring, Evaluation and Social Audit' , and the following categories of Schemes of the Department are identified for Social Audit -
1. Schemes covering Grant in Aid institutions
2. Scholarship schemes covering SC and OBC students 
3. Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana  and Protection of Civil Rights Schemes
4. Free Coaching Schemes.
This information was given by The Minister of State Social Justice and Empowerment Shri A. Narayanswamy in the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Union Minister for MSME, Shri Narayan Rane will be chairing North East MSME Conclave along with Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam
Union Minister for MSME, Shri Narayan Rane would be chairing North East MSME Conclave, along with Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma on 18th November, 2021 in the presence of others senior Ministers of all North-Eastern States and dignitaries at Guwahati. The conclave is organized by the Ministry of MSME and aims at promoting entrepreneurship and trade opportunities for MSMEs in the North-East Region
MSME sector plays a significant role in terms of job creation and expanding manufacturing base. Currently, it consists of over 6 crore units employing over 11 crore people and is a seminal contributor to the economic growth with over 30% of contribution to GDP and over 49% of overall exports from India.
India can develop only when we develop the North-east and it is also the top most priority of the Ministry of MSME. The Ministry has special focus on the development of MSMEs in North East Region to bring in economic prosperity to the region and propel their contribution to the nation’s GDP.
The correlation between the Indian economy and the MSME sector's performance has never been more aligned. This would continue to grow even closer in the upcoming years. Given the impact of MSMEs on our economy, it is imperative that push is given to promote entrepreneurship amongst the youth and allow them to play an integral role in development of Indian economy thereby realizing the dream of 5 trillion economy.
Such conclaves will help North East Region in its efforts towards encouraging entrepreneurship and enhancing competitiveness of the sector in the changed economic scenario. This would also help in developing understanding about the schemes implemented by the Ministry as well as initiate a dialogue with the State Governments and other stakeholders that would help in better planning and execution of policies for the sector.
Ministry of Railways
Shri Piyush Goyal Participates in India-Us Roundtable Discussion
Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal, Chairman Railway Board, Shri Ashwani Lohani, other Railway Board Members and senior officials participated in the India-US Roundtable discussion. The roundtable discussion with a high-level delegation of leading US companies working in the area of railway construction, maintenance and Information Technology was held in the Ministry of Railways on 13th August, 2018. The US delegation comprising 13 companies was led by US Ambassador to India H.E. Kenneth I. Juster. High-ranking US Embassy officials from US Commerce Services and US Trade Development Agency  also participated.
Presentations made by the companies covered a large range of products and services such as energy efficiency, anti-corrosion coating, fire protection, use of high-speed internet/cloud computing for Railway Passenger Reservation and passenger experience, composite sleepers for bridges, turn-out Lap switches, road crossings, tunnels, wagon-leasing, rolling stocks manufacture, track laying and maintenance machines, signaling, rail-flaw detection, modern method of construction of bridges, etc.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Piyush Goyal, thanked the US Embassy and the companies for the excellent presentations and directed that a detailed examination of how they would meet our requirement at competitive costs be carried out. He also impressed on the American delegation that Make-in-India would make many of the products competitive in India. It would also give them a platform for the global market. He also directed that the issues raised by US companies in respect of fast-track clearance at RDSO, third party certification and clarity on GST, etc. would be examined by Railway Board and resolved/clarified.
The US Ambassador profusely thanked the Minister for Railways, Shri Piyush Goyal for the prompt action taken on his request to give a platform to US technology companies working in the area of Rail Transport to showcase their expertise. He stressed the need for a continuous dialogue to advance the common interests in finding innovative solutions to technological problems in Railways. He also highlighted the need for adoption of a life-cycle cost so that durable and innovative technologies can be incentivized.
Chairman Railway Board thanked the participants and assured that an indicative three-year programme for Works and Procurement would be attempted by Railways. This would help the industry to make their preparation in advance. Annual Works/Procurement Programme would, however, be subject to annual budgetary cycle.
It was agreed that a follow-up meeting at a later date will be held on the suggestions received.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs 
Cabinet approves budgetary support to Nepa Limited for the Revival and Mill Development Plan, payment of pending salary/wages, statutory dues, funding Voluntary Retirement Scheme and disinvestment of the company on RMDP completion
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for providing a financial package of Rs. 469.41 crore for the Revival and Mill Development Plan  of Nepa Limited, a public sector newsprint company located in Nepanagar, Madhya Pradesh.
Details:
This package includes:
- infusion of Rs.277 crore as equity in the company for the completion of RMDP which shall enhance production capacity to 1,00,000 MT per annum from the present capacity of 83,000 MT per annum, diversify production, improve quality of products and also help resume production at Nepa Ltd. The RMDP is expected to be completed within a year.
- A loan of Rs.101.58 crore has also been approved for the payment of salary, wages, etc. This will mitigate the hardship being faced by the Nepa Ltd. employees.
- A sum of Rs.90.83 crore was approved for the voluntary retirement scheme of 400 employees.
- The strategic disinvestment of NEPA Ltd. on completion of the RMDP at an appropriate time has also been approved.
- The completion of the RMDP will help Nepa Ltd. to command a better presence in the market besides supporting employment in the tribal belt of Madhya Pradesh.
Background:
Nepa Ltd. is a pioneer newsprint company located in district Burhanpur, in Madhya Pradesh. This company was incorporated in 1947 and was the only newsprint manufacturing unit in India up to 1981. This public sector company is currently undergoing a revival and modernization plan that shall enhance production capacity and diversify its product portfolio.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
Centre issues guidelines for restructuring under Sugar Development Fund Rules 1983
Guidelines have provision for two years moratorium and then five years of repayment expected to provide relief to financially weak sugar mills which have availed SDF loans
In order to facilitate rehabilitation of financially weak but economically viable sugar mills which have availed loans under the Sugar Development Fund Act, 1982, Department of Food and Public Distribution issued guidelines for restructuring of SDF Loans under Rule 26 of the SDF Rules 1983 on 03.01.2022.The complete Guidelines are available at https://dfpd.gov.in/sdfguidelines-sdf.htm and at https://sdfportal.in.
The outstanding amount of default of SDF loans is Rs. 3068.31 crores  which include Rs. 1249.21 crores as Principal amount, Rs. 1071.30 crores as interest and Rs. 747.80 crores as additional interest due to default.
These guidelines are uniformly applicable for SDF loans availed by all types of concerns, including Co-operative Societies, Private Limited Companies and Public Limited Companies.
The Guidelines have provision for two years moratorium and then five years of repayment which is expected to provide big relief to financially weak sugar mills which have availed SDF loans. Waiver of additional interest in full will be given to the eligible sugar factories. The rate of interest will be changed to the interest rate as per the prevailing bank rate on the date of approval of the rehabilitation package as per SDF Rule 26  . These points will facilitate reduction of the debt burden over these defaulting sugar mills.
A sugar factory that has been incurring cash losses continuously for the last 3 financial years or Sugar factory’s net worth is negative, and the sugar factory is not closed/has not ceased to crush cane for more than 2 sugar seasons, excluding the current sugar season is eligible to apply for re-structuring.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Memorandum of Understanding between POI FEB, Russian Academy of Sciences and CSIR-NIO/NGRI
Goa: 13 January 2021
V.I. Il’Ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute , Russia along with CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography , Goa & CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute , Hyderabad have signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of Marine Sciences and Technology.
The POI is the largest research institution in the Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences comprising 31 research units equipped with modern scale devices. Whereas, CSIR-NIO and CSIR-NGRI, the constituent research laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research  are world renowned Institutes in the fields of Oceanography and Earth Sciences respectively.
The MoU was signed virtually on 12th January at 11.00 hrs., by Dr. Vyacheslav B. Lobanov, Director, POI FEB RAS, Vladivostok with Prof. Sunil Kumar Singh, Director, CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, Goa and Dr. Virendra M. Tiwari, Director, CSIR-National Geophysical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad in the presence of Dr. Renat B. Shakirov and Dr. Anatoly Obzhirov of POI FEB RAS, Dr. Shishir Shrotriya, Embassy of India, Moscow, Russia along with Dr. Pawan Dewangan, Dr. V. J. Loveson, Dr. Sanil Kumar, Dr. A. Mazumdar, Mr. Venkat Krishnamurthy of CSIR-NIO and Dr. Prakash Kumar, Dr. Maheshwar Ojha of CSIR-NGRI.
This MoU will enable Indian and Russian scientists to enhance capacity and skill development in the field of marine sciences and technology, sharing knowledge and expertise in the field of sustainable development for national economic interests of both countries, research and development of technology focused on the geo-resources, spatial variation of geophysical fields, marine geology, paleogeography, environment and climate change, physical oceanography, biological oceanography, hydrochemistry, atmosphere, hydrosphere, development of oceanographic equipment, calibration and validation. This MoU will strengthen cooperation to combat ocean pollution and climate changes, organize scientific expeditions for the search, study and monitoring of ocean resources and environment based on approach of integrated methods for sampling of seabed sediments, rocks and minerals, and advanced geological/geophysical techniques.
NIO/VK/PM
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Prime Minister's Office
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Defence Services, calls on PM Modi
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of Myanmar Defence Services, called on Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today.
The Senior General congratulated the Prime Minister on the success in the recent parliamentary elections. He noted the rapid development of India in the past few years and also the all-round deepening of the unique relations between the two neighbours, including in the area of defence and security cooperation.
The Prime Minister recalled the warmth and hospitality extended to him during his visits to Myanmar. He noted the excellent state of bilateral cooperation in the areas of counter-insurgency, capacity building, military-to-military-ties and maritime cooperation, as well as in economic sphere and development cooperation.
The Prime Minister reiterated India’s strong commitment to work for further deepening the unique bilateral partnership with the Union of Myanmar.
Prime Minister's Office
PM greets people of Rajasthan on Rajasthan Diwas
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted people of Rajasthan on Rajasthan Diwas. Shri Modi wished for all round development of the State with a rich heritage.
The Prime Minister tweeted :
"राजस्थान दिवस पर राज्य के सभी भाई-बहनों को मेरी ओर से ढेरों शुभकामनाएं। इस अवसर पर मैं गौरवशाली विरासत से समृद्ध इस प्रदेश के चौतरफा विकास की कामना करता हूं।"
Ministry of Coal
Ministry of Coal to hold Interactive Session with Allottees of Captive and Commercial Coal Mines
As part of its commitment to assisting India in meeting its energy demands, the Ministry of Coal is actively pursuing Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi’s vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.Ministry of Coal had launched the first ever tranche of commercial auctions of 38 coal mines on June 18, 2020 under CM Act, 2015 and MMDR Act, 1957. Till now, six tranches of commercial coal mines auction have been completed and a total of 87 coal mines have been successfully auctioned having cumulative PRC of 220.52 Million Tonne per Annum with annual revenue generation estimated at Rs. 33,231 crore considering production at aggregated Peak Rate Capacity.The Ministry of Coal has achieved 115.77 MT of coal production from the captive and commercial coal mines for the year 2022-23. Furthermore, in order to ensure India’s energy needs, the Ministry of Coal will hold an interactive session with coal block allottees of captive and commercial coal blocks on 12th April , 2023 in New Delhi.
The session will showcase the significant reforms implemented by the Ministry of Coal to make the coal sector more appealing and will also solicit feedback and suggestions from all the stakeholders in order to expand the domestic coal production, lower the need for imported coal, and facilitate ease of doing business in the country.
The Ministry of Coal will also review the actual coal production for the fiscal 2022-23 as well as the production targets for the year 2023-24.
Shri Amrit Lal Meena, Secretary, Ministry of Coal will chair the event and Shri M. Nagaraju, Additional Secretary & Nominated Authority will also be present.
Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh reaches Hawaii for a visit to US Indo-Pacific Command headquarters
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh reached Hawaii on April 12, 2022 for a visit to the Headquarters of United States Indo-Pacific Command . On his arrival from Washington DC, Shri Rajnath Singh was received by Commander, US INDOPACOM Admiral John Aquilino. The USINDOPACOM and Indian military have wide-ranging engagements, including a number of military exercises, training events and exchanges.
The Raksha Mantri will visit the USINDOPACOM headquarters, Pacific Fleet and the training facilities in Hawaii on April 13, 2022, before returning to India. He is also expected to lay wreath at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific and visit Headquarters of US Army Pacific and Pacific Air Forces, during his brief stay in Hawaii.
In Washington DC, US President Mr Joe Biden held a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the presence of Shri Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mr Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defence Mr Lloyd Austin.
Later, the Raksha Mantri and External Affairs Minister had co-chaired with their US counterparts the 4th India-US Ministerial 2+2 Dialogue on April 11, 2022. A Joint Statement was issued after the dialogue. Before the 2+2 Dialogue, Shri Rajnath Singh held a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of Defence separately in Pentagon.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh says, investment in R&D has been consistently increasing over the years and during the last 10 years, it has increased by 3 times
Says, the government has been making concerted efforts to encourage private sector to invest into R&D
Union Minister of State  Science & Technology; Minister of State  Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said the investment in R&D in terms of Gross Expenditure on R&D  has been consistently increasing over the years and during the last 10 years, the GERD of India in gross terms has increased by 3 times.
In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today, he said, the number of Full Time Equivalent  researchers per millions of population in India also follows an increasing trend. As per the latest R&D statistics, the number of FTE Researchers per million people has increased to 255 in 2017 from 218 in 2015 and 110 in 2000.
The Government is aware that the research intensity, in terms of Gross Expenditure on Research and Development  to GDP has been figured around 0.7% since last few years. The main reason for GERD to GDP not increasing to desired level is due to the fact that there is an inadequate private sector investment into GERD. Unlike other advanced countries where more than 70% contribution of GERD comes from the private sector, in India the private sector contribution to GERD is less than 40%. The government is making concerted efforts to increase private sector investment into GERD through various incentivization initiatives.
In reply to a similar question, the Minister said that the government has been making concerted efforts to encourage private sector to invest into R&D. The Government has allowed corporate sector to make R&D investments under the provision of Corporate Social Responsibility .
Corporates can invest in technology business incubators or contribute in research efforts carried out by institutions and national research laboratories as a part of their CSR. Several steps have been taken to incentivize the private sector’s R&D participation by improving the ease of doing business in the STI activities; introducing flexible tools for public procurement; creating avenues for collaborative STI funding through portfolio-based funding mechanisms such as Public-Private-Partnerships and other innovative hybrid funding mechanisms.
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SNC/TM/RR
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Special Service and Features
INVITING APPLICATION FROM ELIGIBLE COACHING/TRAINING INSTITUTES FOR CONDUCTING SPECIAL PROGRAMME FOR SC/ST JOB SEEKERS
O/o the Sub Regional Employment Officer, National Career Service Centre for SC/STs, Chennai,  Ministry of Labour& Employment, Government of India invites applications from the eligible Coaching/Training Institutes for Conducting Special Coaching programme for SC/ST job seekers.
Nature of course: General English, General awareness, Numerical ability, Shorthand typing and Computer,  etc.
- The Coaching would be conducted under the supervision of National Career Service Centre for SC/STs, located at Chennai.
- No. of SC/ST Candidates to be trained : 100.
- Duration of the course : 11 months
- Date of commencement : 01.07.2022. 
- Last date for submission of application to this office: Within 7 days from publication of the advertisement. 
This is stated in a press release issued by Shri. SREERAG. GK, Sub Regional Employment Officer, National Career Service Centre for SC/ST, Chennai.
Ministry of Agriculture &
Farmers Welfare
Seed Bankers for Conserving Native Crops
PPV&FR Authority registers farmers varieties. Till date 1597 farmers varieties have been registered with PPV&FRA and certificates of registration have been issued. Further, the Protection of Plant Varieties &Farmers Right Authority under the Section 39 of PPV&FR Act, 2001annually confers 35 Awards amounting to Rs.85 lakhs to farmer/ farming communities engaged in conservation of plant genetic resources and which have been used as donor of genes in varieties registerable under the Act. So far 124 farmer/ farming communities have received such Awards.
ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources , New Delhi is conserving seed germplasm for long-term conservation  in its National Genebank . NGB has the responsibility of conservation of plant genetic resources for posterity and sustainable use including landraces and traditional varieties which are potential sources of agriculturally important genes. As on 30.06.2019, NGB is holding 4,41,253 accessions belonging to 1948 species including 83394 accessions of landraces/ primitive varieties.
This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha today.